A federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., returned an indictment charging Paul F. Wrubleski with corruptly impeding the due administration of the internal revenue tax laws and four counts of filing false claims for tax refunds, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Florida lawyers with the Justice department will be prosecuting the case.

According to the indictment, Wrubleski impeded the IRS by filing False W-4s that claimed he was exempt from income tax withholding, and filing false tax returns, including four tax returns that requested over $1.5 million in federal refunds. Wrubleski also sent obstructive letters, tax returns and other false documents to the IRS between 1999 and 2010. In addition, the indictment alleges that Wrubleski filed for bankruptcy in 2006 to impede IRS collection actions.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted on all counts, Wrubleski faces a maximum potential sentence of 23 years in prison and faces a fine of up to $1.2 million.

This case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Charles Edgar, Jr. and Jed Silversmith of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax .